


Deos Fortioribus Adesse

by pleasanthell



Category: Glee
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-25
Updated: 2016-03-02
Packaged: 2018-01-10 01:19:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1153077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pleasanthell/pseuds/pleasanthell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brittany felt her chest heaving. Suddenly everyone was looking at her, including the Spartan and the boy. She found herself leaning on the front of her imperial box. She must have called out because everyone was looking at her. She took a few deep breaths before gathering her thoughts. It was difficult when she couldn’t rip her eyes from the Spartan’s stare. The deep brown eyes held her captive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

Brittany had done everything in her power not to have to go to the gladiator arena. She didn’t like watching the captives kill each other or slaughter whatever animal the soldiers had brought back with them. She tried to make an excuse that she needed to study. Or she had to meet with an advisor, but her parents were already in meetings and it didn’t look good if a member of the imperial family didn’t preside over the arena.

Her body guards escorted her to the imperial box. She sat down on the plush chair that her father usually sat in. She saw a few of her people looking up at her. She nodded to them and they smiled, sometimes blushing and looked away.  She found amusement in the peoples’ bashfulness. She never felt like she was better than everyone else, yet everyone else did just because of who her parents were.

“Today!” The announcer called from the middle of the area. Brittany had been so busy people watching that she hadn’t noticed the day’s combatants had already been shoved out into the area. “We have a career gladiator!” Brittany looked over the tall muscular, less than modest man strutting around the area. He had been in the arena many times and the closest he came to death was when three prisoners joined forces to take him down. Even then he only suffered a few cuts. The crowed liked him though.

Then the announcer called out the remaining participants. A boy, a thief who couldn’t have been more than twelve. A man who had burned down his home with his family inside. There was a slave who looked like he was ready for a fight. And a captured Spartan warrior, a woman with tan skin and sleek black hair pulled back away from her face. She had a fire in her eyes that Brittany could see from where she was sitting, at least twenty rows up. Although she knew that Spartan women were much fiercer, barbarians her mother called them, this one fascinated her. She didn’t look like an animal. Brittany wasn’t sure what to think about her.

When the announcer started the fight, the crowd cheered and the slave took off running for the career gladiator. The lions were released at the same time and made a run for all of the people in the arena. Brittany held her breath watching a particularly starving looking lion make a line for the Spartan. The Spartan seemed to take a look all the way around herself and then quickly assess the situation.

Brittany watched as the career took out the slave rather quickly with a few lashes of his sword. The Spartan made a run toward the thief boy. Brittany looked away because the boy looked so lost that his back was to the advancing Spartan. Brittany couldn’t watch him fall at the sword of a foreigner who would kill an unsuspecting boy.

However after a moment when she looked back, the Spartan’s sword was not stained in the boy’s blood. She had trust her sword up through the bottom of the lion’s head as it pounced toward the boy. The Spartan shoved the lion’s body off of her and wiped the blood away from her eyes as she moved toward the boy. She stood in front of him as another lion approached. She sifted her weight and the boy cowered behind her, terrified.

As the lion approached, it’s menacing gait mesmerizing the crowd. Part of the crowd started cheering when the career stuck a spear in the side of the lion who was still on its feet coming after him. But Brittany couldn’t look away from the Spartan. She saw the woman’s eyes flicker away from the lion. The lion was staring right at her.

Suddenly, the Spartan took off running away from the boy. Brittany found herself on her feet wondering why she protected the boy from one lion, but leaving him to die in the jaws of another. Brittany’s eyes were locked on the arena as the lion ran after The Spartan. She ran as fast as she could away from the lion, but the larger, more powerful animal was catching up.

The Spartan left her feet, sliding leather sandals first toward the slave’s body. As she was sliding through the dirt, she yanked the shield off of the slave’s arm and rolled onto her back with the shield on her own arm. The lion’s teeth met with the metal and the lion jumped off of her only to start circling around her. The woman’s eyes never left the lion’s. The lion licked its lips and moved back to the slave’s body to start eating the fresh meat.

Brittany’s eyes finally moved to the career who was quickly advancing on the Spartan woman. Brittany wanted to call out and warn her, but she was speechless. Her hands covered her mouth while the career threw a spear at the Spartan. The boy yelled out as the crowd roared trying to warn the Spartan. Brittany found herself yelling as well.

The Spartan whirled around and hit the spear out of the air with her shield. She adjusted her hold on her sword and made sure she knew where the boy was. Then when her eyes landed on the man, she smirked.

Brittany sat back down in her chair because she wasn’t sure she could stand anymore.

As she lowered the shield she swung her sword up to stop the career’s sword coming for her head. The clang of their swords sounded through the entire arena. It had fallen completely silent. There was only the uncomfortable creak as people shifted their weight watching the highly skilled battle happening in front of them.

For every move there was a counter move. For every counter there was another move. Their swords connected and their shields deflected. Once their swords were locked together, the Spartan pushed away the career and jumped kicking the man away from her.

Behind them, the boy watched until he saw the lone lion with the bloodstained muzzle turn to him. People in the crowd started shouting and the Spartan seemed to hear. She glanced behind her and then blocked a blow from the sword her shield. The woman took off running away from the career and he took off after her.

The Spartan jumped and landed squarely on the lion’s back with a sword through its neck. The lion fell immediately and the Spartan slid off of the carcass and pivoted around in time for her sword to meet the career’s. With the mighty yell, the Spartan used her shield to hit the career in the face. He recoiled and swung his sword at her. It deflected off of her shield, but grazed her side at the career fell to the ground. As she swung, the Spartan buried her sword in his abdomen.

He fell to his knees, bleeding and gasping for breath. He struggled to stand, but the Spartan slit his neck with the tip of her sword killing him instantly.

The crowd roared. The Spartan looked around at the crowd. Besting a Gladiator such as the one that she just did usually brought great joy to the victor, but the Spartan didn’t smile. She didn’t raise her bloodied sword. Brittany leaned forward to see what the woman did next.

When the woman turned to the boy, the arena itself seemed to hold its breath. The Spartan cast aside her shield and buried the tip of her sword into the dirt in front of the boy. She took a few steps away from it, turned back to the boy, and then knelt down, one knee in the dirt. The Spartan rested her opposite forearm on her thigh and bowed her head.

Brittany knew that the rules were strict. Only one person may leave the arena alive. The Spartan seemed to know that and was offering her life to the boy so that he could live. The boy was shaky when he picked up the sword. The sword trembled in his hand as he moved toward the Spartan. She didn’t move from her knelt position. She had killed two lions and a man twice her size only to let a small boy take her life.

Brittany felt her chest heaving. Suddenly everyone was looking at her, including the Spartan and the boy. She found herself leaning on the front of her imperial box. She must have called out because everyone was looking at her. She took a few deep breaths before gathering her thoughts. It was difficult when she couldn’t rip her eyes from the Spartan’s stare. The deep brown eyes held her captive.

Brittany licked her lips and swallowed dryly. Finally, the princess spoke, “The match is over.”

She was afraid that the crowd would not be happy until there was a victor, but instead they applauded. The Spartan rose to her feet and looked up at the princess. Brittany thought it improper to hold the warrior’s eyes any longer so she turned away and made her way out the door of her box. She spoke to her handmaiden who was following as she walked, “The boy is free to go. Bring the woman to the palace. Tend to her wounds and then allow her to bathe. Then bring her to eat with me.”

“Yes, your majesty,” the maiden nodded before peeling off of the princess’s entourage.

Brittany paced around her bed chamber. She wondered what the Spartan woman was doing. She wondered if she had been bathed. She wondered about the Spartan’s wounds. She hadn’t explained herself to anyone. Not that she needed to. She was royalty. She could demand anything without question, although she rarely did.

“Your food is ready, your Majesty,” her maiden said quietly from the doorway. Brittany stopped her pacing and looked out her window at the sun. Had she really been pacing all the time it took the dress the Spartan’s wounds, bathe, and dress her? Going over every second of the fight in the arena? Every look the in The Spartan’s eyes. Every swing of her sword. The second her knee hit the dirt as she knelt before the boy kept playing over and over.

Brittany gathered herself. She didn’t speak. She just nodded and followed her maiden to dinner.

The Spartan was already seated at one end of the table. The Spartan stood when Brittany entered and then sat when Brittany sat down. Brittany was glad that there was a vast table between them and guards at the door. Although the Spartan was bathed and dressed in the crimson robes of a warrior, there was something wild about her. Even with the leather forearm cuffs that her maidens dressed the warrior in and the leather strings they used to subtly decorate her hair with a tiny braid coming off of the crown of her head.

Brittany picked up her silverware and watched the Spartan do the same a moment after her.

“How are your wounds?” Brittany asked softly, like she had been taught to speak only to other royalty. She was to maintain a command of the people around her with a stern tone, but she couldn’t seem to manage it against the strong woman across the table from her.

The Spartan nodded and replied gruffly, “They’ll heal.” She didn’t look up from her food. She just kept eating with her head down.

Brittany chewed slowly before swallowing. Then she looked up at the Spartan, “Does a fearsome warrior such as yourself have a name?”

“I do,” the Spartan nodded. She didn’t elaborate. She just took a bite of her food as her eyes kept restlessly roaming the table.

“May I inquire as to what it is?” Brittany finally asked when she realized that Spartan wasn’t going to give up anything that wasn’t asked.

The Spartan finally looked up at Brittany. She expected menace in the woman’s gaze, however all the found was curiosity and skepticism, “Santana.”

“Are you a Spartan soldier Santana?” Brittany had to ask. She had to know more about the woman she invited to dine with her. She was a stranger and a non-royal, so Brittany was risking a lot to learn about this woman who would lay down her life for a boy she didn’t know.

Santana nodded, “I am.”

“Why were you in the arena?” Brittany tilted her head to the side, resting the knives she was using to eat with against her plate.

Santana held Brittany’s eyes as she spoke, “There was a battle on the sea. I was captured and brought back here.”

“A military ship?” Brittany narrowed her eyes. She was not aware of any orders from her parents to capture Spartan ships. As far as she knew her family and the Spartan people were on good terms.

Santana shook her head and looked down to her food. She cut up a piece and lifted it to her mouth, “A merchant ship. Your men are not very prone to discussion. They’re more of the throw to the lions first and ask why the ship was where it was later.”

“Was it in restricted waters?” Brittany countered, bringing back some of her royal bravado. She shouldn’t let a stranger insult her men in front of the servants and guards. Although they weren’t supposed to, Brittany knew that the servants and guards talked about royal gossip with their friends and family.

Santana nodded, “Yes. The ship was taking on water. We had to get to shore or we all would have drowned. However before we could explain there was sword to my throat,” Santana didn’t look up at Brittany. She shoved food into her mouth and angrily chewed it.

Brittany put her silverware down, “What of the crew?”

“The merchants are dead. The goods are at the bottom of the sea,” Santana set down her silverware as well and took a sip of her drink. She swirled her drink around and took another hearty drink. As her cup met the table, Santana asked, “Why am I here?”

“Excuse me?” Brittany was taken aback at her directness.

Santana didn’t speak again. She knew that Brittany heard and understood her so there was no need for excess words.

“Your acts in the arena were noble,” Brittany held her head high as she was taught, “I wanted to understand the woman who would kill lions and our finest gladiators, but lay her life down under the sword of a child.”

Santana laughed heartily, “You’ll never understand me.”

Brittany frowned deeply. The part of her father in her wanted to have this woman thrown to the lions again, but she changed her mind. She took a deep breath, “What makes you say this?”

“I didn’t mean to offend you,” Santana shook her head dismissively. “We are just of two different worlds.”

This piqued Brittany’s interest. She swallowed and asked, “How so?”

“Have you ever been to Sparta?” Santana asked resting her forearms on the table.

Brittany shook her head.

Santana nodded figuring that would be the answer, “Where we are from is very different. Everything is different. Do you think that I could have been a warrior here?”

Brittany had never thought about it. She was always just a princess because that’s what she was born to be. She never thought about other career paths or even if other women in her kingdom could do that they wanted. She answered honestly, “I don’t know.”

Santana smiled and looked over at the guards standing at the door. She called to them, “Are there any women among your ranks?”

The guards looked to Brittany. She nodded and then the taller guard answered, “No.”

Santana smirked, “I suppose you’d think me a barbarian to dress in my native clothes and lounge about the way that Spartan’s do. The girls learn to fight like the boys. The children don’t bother with clothing. Everything is so proper here.”

“Yet you eat the way that you do,” Brittany gestured to Santana’s proper knife and spoon ettique.

Santana smirked, “Merely respecting your culture as I am a guest.”

Brittany nodded, taking in the new information that she was presented. Santana was not a barbarian. She could fight, yet she was smart. She was from Sparta, yet she was cultured. She was a bold woman and a spoke her opinion in a subtle way. Brittany smiled softly and looked across the table, “I’ll have to visit Sparta. It certainly doesn’t seem the way I was told.”

“Not many things are,” Santana offered and picked up her silverware, resuming eating.

They were quiet for a while. Brittany was actually enjoying her meal with the Spartan woman. She would watch the way she ate. She cut her food with precision and didn’t waste many movements. Occasionally the Spartan would catch her looking, but wouldn’t let on. She would just continue eating, okay with being observed.

Suddenly the Spartan stood. “What’s wrong?” Brittany immediately scooted back in her chair ready to be attacked. The guards seemed to think the same thing. Their spears were pointed at Santana immediately.

Santana pressed her finger to her lips and batted away the spears, moving toward the doorway. The guards look to Brittany who quickly waved them away from Santana.

Santana pressed her body against the wall next to the doorway and listened. Her eyes widened any they flew to Brittany. “Where’s your armory?”

Brittany was startled. She didn’t know what to say. She pointed out the door. “That way.” After she said that, she heard the commotion. She could hear the sound of swords on shield and the screams of soldiers on death’s door. She had presided over enough gladiator games to know.

“Where’s your bedchamber?” Santana asked, walking to the table and picking up a knife. She slid it into the wrist cuff that she was dressed in. She looked to guard who shook out of his stupor and turned his back the princess to guard her from whatever was coming their way.

“This way,” Brittany pointed to the doorway behind her chair.

Santana gestured to the doorway and Brittany didn’t have to be told twice. She quickly walked down the hallway with Santana right behind her. As they walked Brittany told her handmaidens to go to their rooms and lock the doors. Brittany knew the inevitability of some kind of attack. Her family was powerful and her empire was rich with resources. However she didn’t think the battle would get to her home.

“Do you know who the attackers are?” Santana asked as they ascended a stone staircase after parting ways with the maidens.

Brittany shook her head, “I have no idea.”

When they got to Brittany’s bedchamber, she walked straight to the window. It didn’t look like her empire was under siege. Just the palace. She could see the townspeople running from the markets and small homes up to the palace to try to help. They were fighting their way in through the armed soldiers attacking her home.

“Do you have any weapons?” Santana asked, looking around the entire room, checking behind every door or tapestry.

Brittany nodded and knelt under her bed. There was always a sword nearby. Her father insisted on it. Her mother insisted on the dagger under her pillow. Brittany handed Santana the sword that had never been used because Santana was obviously defter at it and kept the dagger for herself.

“What do we do?” Brittany asked. She felt an overwhelming sense of dread. She took a deep breath and tried to quell the panic she felt. She was hopelessly underprepared for any kind of attack.

Santana looked around the large room and knew they were up too high to jump out the window, but there was only one door to the room. Santana looked around and gestured to the bed. “You hide.”

Brittany started to follow orders before she stopped, “What are you doing to do?”

“Protect you,” Santana hissed and pushed Brittany toward the bed, “Now go.”

Brittany couldn’t see much from her place, but she could hear. She heard footsteps coming up the stairs. She saw the sandaled feet of the soldiers. She didn’t know where Santana was, but they were starting to circle the bed. She wondered what they were looking for. There were riches all over the house and her mother’s jewelry collection was much more substantial. She wondered if her parents were okay.

Her heart started racing when she heard one of them tell the other ones to check under the bed for jewelry. Brittany closed her eyes and held her breath. She knew she was about to be capture and possibly killed. She cursed the Spartan for apparently abandoning her to be captured. She might have even been working with these soldiers. Brittany clenched her fists with her eyes closed, wishing away this terrible event.

“Hey! I found the Princess!” a man’s voice yelled.

Brittany scooted away from the voice and felt rough fingertips graze her forearm. Brittany whimpered and turned her head away from the man. She couldn’t scoot away enough. Before she made it out of his reach, she felt her tunic get snagged in the soldier’s hand.

“I got her!”


	2. Chapter 2

Suddenly there was the crash of sword against shield that rang through the room. The soldiers started yelling and there was a scuffle. Metal hit metal and the gurgling noise of dying humans bounced off the stone walls. Tears flooded Brittany’s eyes during the commotion. She wasn’t used to all of these things happening to her. There was so much going on and it was so terrifying.

There was a soft grunt of frustration before everything went quiet. Lone footsteps made their way to the bed and Brittany squeezed her eyes shut. There was a beat before she heard, “It’s time to go, Your Highness.”

Brittany slowly opened her eyes. Through her the watery film of tears, she saw that Santana’s face was sprinkled with blood, but the hand she was offering was clean. Brittany took the hand and Santana helped her out from under the bed.

Santana took Brittany’s hand in one hand and her sword in another as she ran out of the bedroom. Brittany noted the dead men lying around her bed and how one seemed to be pushed to the side wall, smearing blood on the ground. Santana moved him away from the bed so that she could get out.

Santana stopped down the hallway and Brittany ran into the back of her. Santana turned her head back toward Brittany and whispered, “Is there a back way out of the palace?”

Brittany nodded. It was for emergencies. She used to play in the long damp escape route as a child. When she got older she learned that her mother allowed it so she would know where to go if something happened and she wouldn’t panic because it was familiar.

They ran down the hallway as quietly as possible, Santana leading the way, but taking cues from Brittany as to which way to go. It was usually just a tug on their joined hands to tell Santana where to go.

No matter where they went in the palace there were sounds of fighting all around them. They were running so fast that they couldn’t stop when a soldier crossed their path. They were running toward a fork in the hallways and the man just happened to be walking past them. Santana let go of Brittany’s hand as she plunged her sword into the man’s abdomen who was calling out for the other soldiers.

“Stay here,” Santana told Brittany before running around the corner to stop the new swell of soldiers. Brittany didn’t want to just leave Santana to take on an army for her. She looked around and realized that she was close to the armory. It was a short walk down the hall and maybe she could be of use or at least get Santana a shield. Brittany glanced at Santana fighting deftly as she turned down the opposite fork.

It was just going to be a short jaunt down the hallway. However when she turned the corner into the armory, she ran right into the soldier. She quickly grabbed her by the arms and called out, “I got the Princess!”

The air in Brittany’s lungs was sucked out. She should have just listened to Santana. She should have stayed where she was. She was just a princess who couldn’t fight. When the man pushed her out into the hallway, she saw that Santana was running towards her. However, when there was a knife pressed against Brittany’s neck. Santana stopped dead. She adjusted her grip on the sword and then knelt down, placing her sword on the ground.

Men came running up behind Santana and yanked her to her feel, quickly shackling her. Brittany was shackled and then their shackles were tied together. They were marched down the hallway, Santana getting a few choice shoves from the men escorting them out.

“I’m so sorry,” Brittany told Santana as they were led out of the very escape tunnel that they were heading for.

Santana shook her head, but didn’t say anything. Brittany wasn’t sure if she was so angry that she couldn’t talk or if Santana was telling her to forget it. Silent tears streamed down Brittany’s eyes. She feel like she let Santana down. Even though she didn’t know the Spartan, Santana had saved her multiple times and she did the one thing Santana told her not to causing them to get caught.

 Santana kept a sharp eye on the soldiers around them. The fighting noises seemed to have stopped. There weren’t s a lot of people in the hallway that they were walking down and the body count didn’t seem to include any of Brittany’s people.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, they were marched out of the city through back roads. The men kept shoving Santana causing her to stumble. She even fell down a few times, but refused to let the men help her up. She yanked her arm away and stood on her own.

Brittany stumbled only once and Santana immediately reached her shackles hands up to catch her. Santana didn’t get to reach her before the men caught her. Santana noted their care with Brittany and their brazen disregard for herself. The walk was about an hour and they had stopped multiple times when it seemed Brittany was tired, but when Santana slowed down to test the men, she just got yanked forward.

Finally, they stopped at a dense tree line outside of the city. Brittany and Santana were sat down on a rock under a tree while the men talked amongst themselves out of ear shot. They all seemed to be looking for something.

Santana had been listening to the conversations the men were having around her while they were walking and surmised that Brittany had been kidnapped for a ransom. There was no political plot or military plan. They just wanted riches. She kept quiet and kept an eye on Brittany. An escape would be so much easier if she was alone or with a fellow warrior. Having a royal at her side was definitely going to be a handicap.

Santana relayed what she had figured out to Brittany in a hush whisper. Brittany nodded figuring out much the same thing.

Santana was looking around. She was trying to find a way to escape. She was looking for a weapon or a trail that led away.

“I’m sorry,” Brittany muttered again.

Santana shook her head, continuing her scan of the horizon, “They were everywhere. There was no way we would have gotten away.”

“You could have gotten away,” Brittany stated, watching Santana’s sharp eyes scan the terrain around them.

Santana shrugged, “Yeah, but they would have captured you alone.”

“Why do you care about me?” Brittany asked, softly.

Santana took a deep breath and then sighed, “I don’t know. You’re not a fighter. Someone needs to protect you. Especially is you’re going to be the ruler of this land someday.” Santana huffed and looked around, “We need at least one ruler somewhere on Earth with some compassion.”

Brittany didn’t have to ask why Santana thought she had compassion. She couldn’t watch the little boy kill Santana after she protected him from lions and men. She ended the battle before the boy or Santana could be hurt. Brittany asked, “Did you know the boy?”

“What boy?” Santana asked, looking back at Brittany.

“The boy in the arena,” Brittany stated holding Santana’s eyes, “The one you saved.”

Santana shook her head. Before Brittany could say anything else a small wagon raced into view. The two horses pulling the old rickety wagon were beautiful and fast. The man piloting the wagon pulled it to a stop in front of the men that had kidnapped them.

Santana turned her head so that her lips brushed against Brittany’s ear as she spoke in a whisper, “If they kill me, remember that I have a knife in my cuff.”

Brittany nodded quickly, feeling her heart race. She wasn’t sure what it was from, but before she could sort it out, she was pulled to her feet. Brittany kept her head down as she was led to the back of the wagon. That meant that she didn’t see what happened to the man that had fallen on the ground and why another man hit Santana with a shield. Brittany shrieked when she saw Santana crumble unconsciously onto the ground.

She was immediately muffled with a hand and thrown into the wagon with Santana’s limp body falling in after her. There were some noises outside before the wagon started moving. It was bumpy in the back and made it difficult for Brittany to get her balance. She scrambled closer to Santana, terrified that her only ally was dead.

Brittany straightened out Santana’s legs and carefully untangled the rope that bound them together so that she wouldn’t trap one of Santana’s limbs or hurt her with the rope. Brittany laid Santana out in the back of the wagon, resting Santana’s head as best she could in her lap. It was difficult with her hands shackled together in front of her, but Brittany moved the hair out of Santana’s face enough to see her open mouth was expelling and inhaling air.

Brittany sighed in relief and bowed her head, thanking the gods that Santana was still alive. She must have just been knocked unconscious. Brittany tenderly moved the hair away from Santana’s face and hoped that she was making Santana more comfortable on the bumpy ride.

She had no way to tell time because it was dark in the wagon, but the longer their journey, the more hope Brittany felt slipping away. Tears started to make their way down her cheeks. She closed her eyes wishing that she had done so many things differently. She looked down at the unconscious woman lying on her and bent down to rest her forehead on Santana’s hoping that somehow she could gain some of the warrior’s strength.


	3. Chapter 3

Brittany wasn’t sure what time it was when she felt Santana stirring. She had stared into space trying to think of a way to escape and take Santana with her. Everything she thought of was far too complicated to work effectively and she wasn’t strong enough to just carry Santana away.

“Where are we?” Santana asked with her eyes closed. She moved her hands up to her eyes and rubbed them before slowly sitting up.

“I-I don’t know,” Brittany bit her lip, wishing she knew where they were. She wished she could have stayed awake and paid more attention.

Santana rolled her neck and rubbed the bump on her head, “Do you know how long we’ve been moving?”

Brittany ducked her head. Again, she was useless, “No. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Santana stated. She scooted closer to Brittany and brought their hands together. “Help me get the knife out of my cuff. We need to get away from them before we get any farther from the city.”

Brittany did as she was told, sliding her fingers between Santana’s warm skin and the cool leather cuff. Santana tried to help, tilting her arm down so that the knife would slide to Brittany’s fingers.

Brittany managed to grip the knife with the tips of her fingers and pull it out of the cuff. She passed it off to Santana who immediately severed the rope between them, leaving a long piece of rope on her end. Then she moved Brittany’s shackled wrists into her lap and started using the knife to open them. Santana used no finesse when she jammed the knife into the lock and turned it. The shackles immediately fell off of Brittany’s wrists.

Brittany took the knife and did the same to Santana. She surrendered the knife to Santana who stood in a crouched position. “Get ready to run.” Santana picked up her shackles that were on the long rope. She looked at Brittany. Brittany nodded slightly signaling that she was as ready as she was going to get. Santana nodded back and then kicked the back doors open.

The wagon lurched to a stop and there was shouting among the men. Brittany was trying to get back onto her feet. The lurch of the stopping wagon knocked her backward onto her back. Footsteps on dirt moved quickly to the back in the wagon. Santana jumped out at the first man with the knife, plunging it into his neck. Brittany saw a man come at her, but Santana abandoned her knife and used to rope to sling around the man’s neck. She jumped onto his back and used the rope to yank him away from Brittany.

“Run!” Santana shouted. Brittany was already mid-leap. Her feet hit the ground and she took off running toward a dense wood in the direction they had just come from. She glanced behind herself and saw two men on the ground and another trying to get up. Santana was running after her and easily caught up. They both kept running until Brittany tripped on a tree root and fell. She felt a pain in her wrist and whimpered as she got up.

Santana looked over Brittany’s shoulder before helping the Princess up. They made it pretty far into the forest. Santana just wanted to make sure that no one was coming after them. When she saw that no one was and she didn’t hear anything, she looked at Brittany’s wrist. She examined it carefully and Brittany allowed it. Santana looked in her hands at the bloody knife and the rope in her hand.  After a quick scan around, Santana led Brittany to a large rock and sat her down.

Santana knelt down in front of Brittany. She wiped the bloody knife off on the grass and then untied the leather cuff from her forearm. She looked up at Brittany and softly said, “I’m going to put this on your wrist to make sure it doesn’t move too much.”

Brittany was in tears. Her wrist hurt terribly. She just watched Santana position her leather cuff on her wrist and pull it so tight that it hurt. Brittany whimpered, but Santana tied it off.

Santana looked down at her work and quietly said, “I’m sorry, Your Highness. It has to be that tight.”

Brittany just nodded, trusting Santana completely. She sniffled and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “What do we do now?”

The sun was setting and Santana had no idea where they were. She had an injured and unexperienced person with her that was probably going to be more of a handicap that anything. Santana didn’t want to worry the princess so she stayed knelt in front of Brittany. “We have two options. We can start walking back toward the city right now and stop when it gets too dark to see or we can stay around here and camp for the night.”

“Don’t we need to get away from them?” Brittany asked gesturing to the way she thought they had come from. However, she wasn’t really sure which direction they came from.

Santana shook her head, “They’re not going to find us. They’re not soldiers.”

“How can you tell?” Brittany asked, looking down at the cuff on her wrist.

“Their fighting techniques were poor, their uniforms weren’t the same, and they had no respect for their shields,” Santana explained quietly and evenly. She wasn’t scared at that the men would find them. She just wanted to reassure the royal daughter in front of her.

Brittany looked down and shook her head, silent tears falling into her lap, “I don’t know. I’m not equipped for this. And we’re in the middle of the forest. And I-”

“You will be just fine,” Santana assured her. She moved to sit on the rock next to the princess. “I swear on my sword.”

Brittany looked at the woman that she didn’t know more than a day ago. She wondered why Santana would help her. They were from different worlds. Santana had no loyalty to Brittany’s father’s crown. There was no ill will between the empires, but they weren’t exactly friendly either. Brittany looked down at her injured wrist and stated, “Maybe we could stay here for the night?”

Santana nodded like she thought that might be the answer. “We’ll have to find some place to camp. It’s going to be cold tonight.”

Brittany nodded slowly, watching Santana stand up and look around. Santana offered her hand to Brittany who took it gently, “We’ll have to walk a little ways to find somewhere suitable to camp.” She helped Brittany to her feet and gently guided her.

Brittany didn’t question anything. She just allowed Santana to walk her around the forest and down a few hills, through some rocky areas. Santana was always careful of Brittany’s injury and walked slowly so that Brittany didn’t get fatigued.

Brittany was surprised when they came upon the banks of what looked to be a river. She couldn’t see anyone on the river or on either side of the river. The water seemed clean so she and Santana rested for a drink before looking close to the banks for somewhere to camp.

“This looks good,” Santana stepped into what was almost a cave. It was more of an indentation at the foot of a hill that wasn’t more than six feet deep. Santana kicked around some stones on the ground and found soft dirt underneath.

Santana directed Brittany inside of the enclosure. Brittany moved into it and sat down on the soft dirt. Santana nodded with a grunt of approval and started to walk off, mumbling something about food.

“Wait,” Brittany called after her, panic creeping over her when she was Santana moving away from her.

Santana turned around, but didn’t speak. She just looked at Brittany expectantly.

Brittany closed her mouth and then thought over what she was going to say, “Is there anything I can do? I feel useless just sitting here.”

A smile broke out on Santana’s face. She looked around for a moment before seeming to notice the rope she was holding, coiled in her hand. She walked back over to Brittany and handed her the rope. She instructed Brittany to unravel the rope into individual strands. Brittany couldn’t understand how that could help them at all, but Santana disappeared before she had a chance to ask what it was for.

The sun was starting to set when Santana returned. Brittany had taken to tying the strings that she had unraveled from the rope on a branch that she broke off of a nearby tree so that they wouldn’t get tangled. It was time consuming, but Brittany figured that it was a decent way to bide her time. It kept her occupied.

She was so occupied that she was startled when Santana appeared next to her. Brittany put her hand to her chest, “You scared me.”

Santana just smiled, “I’m sorry.” She set down a bundle of sticks that were tied together with what looked to be a rabbit skin. In Santana’s other hand was a long stick. “I’m going to start a fire,” Santana explained. She dropped the bundle of sticks next to the enclosure and unrolled the rabbit skin. Inside the rabbit skin was much more than just wood. There were rocks, bones, and some meat wrapped in two large leaves.

Brittany watched carefully as Santana used two sticks to get an ember glowing. She used her knife to push an ember into a pile of small dry leaves that she gathered from a nearby tree. Brittany smiled when they caught flame. Santana started to put sticks over the flame and then left the fire to tend itself.

Santana didn’t talk while she took some of the sticks, some of the rocks, and sat down next to the fire. Brittany watched as Santana whittled a handful of smaller sticks until they were straight. Then she watched Santana scrape the rocks against each other to make points. It wasn’t hard to guess what she was making after that. Brittany got the stick she had with the strings tied onto it and moved it to the ground next to Santana.

Santana looked up at Brittany and smiled at Brittany’s anticipation of her need. Maybe Brittany wouldn’t be such a handicap after all. She was certainly a quick learner.

After Santana finished assembling her arrows, she started the meat to cooking before whittling the long stick so that it was smooth. Brittany ripped off a little of the bottom of her tunic and fashioned a grip for the bow Santana was making. It was tattered from the escape anyway and it was difficult to run in being so long.

She wrapped the cloth around the bow while Santana twisted three pieces of string together in preparation for putting it on the bow. Brittany knew the situation was less than ideal. They had been kidnapped and taken away from Brittany’s home. But she couldn’t help, but find it peaceful out by the lake at dusk. With Santana.

She did however want her family to know that she was okay. At least she wanted to know that they were okay. “How far away do you think we are from home?”

Santana looked up at the stars and then down at the bow. “It’s hard to tell because it’s cloudy and I was passed about, but best guess? Two hundred miles.”

“Two hundred miles?” Brittany asked in disbelief. “How long will it take us to get home?”

Santana shrugged nonchalantly. “It depends on if we find a village where we can convince them that you’re the princess and that we need a ride back to Rome, without any money.”

Brittany frowned. She’d never been anywhere where the people didn’t know she was royalty. This new adventure was proving to be more difficult and different than everything she’d experienced thus far in her life. Brittany looked up at the sky and suddenly felt smaller and less important than she ever had.

Once the bow was complete, the meat was cooked. Santana offered the rabbit to the princess who had never eaten something so…rabbit shaped. Santana watched her eat it amusedly. Brittany picked at it with her fingers before actually biting into it. Santana ate it with less delicacy. She was starting to get an idea of how long she had been passed out because she was starving.

“How can you tell where we are from the stars?” Brittany asked something she had been wondering.

Santana knelt down next to the fire to warm up. “I spent a few months alone in the wilderness. There wasn’t much to look at but the stars.”

Brittany looked up at the sky. She loved looking at the stars, but never looked at it strategically. She looked at its beauty and wonder. Her eyes fall back to earth and she tilted her head as she gazed at Santana, “Why were you alone?”

“It’s a rite of passage,” Santana took another bite of rabbit. “We get knocked unconscious and dropped in the wilderness. We have to find our way back.”

“What if you don’t?” Brittany frowned, completely appalled by the ritual.

Santana shrugged and tossed what was left of her rabbit onto the leaf she was using as a plate, “I don’t know. I made it back.” She stood up and stretched her back. “I’m going to go gather leaves. I’ll be back in a little while.”

“Wait,” Brittany stood up, increasingly aware of the darkness settling in around them. “What are you getting leaves for?”

“For you to sleep on,” Santana offered like it was obvious, “And hopefully to bring water back.”

Brittany knew that it made sense. They needed water. It was essential. She wasn’t especially fond of the aftertaste of the rabbit and water would help. But that didn’t change the fact that she was scared and completely ill prepared. She felt pathetic next to the fearless warrior in front of her.

Santana shifted her weight from leg to another. She’d seen fear before and knew the look of it. She just wasn’t prepared for the weak feeling in the pit of her stomach that the look on Brittany’s face gave her. Santana’s mind scrambled for something to say. She finally sputtered out, “You could come with me?”

Brittany immediately nodded. “You’ll probably need help carrying the leaves.”

“Yeah,” Santana agreed even though she didn’t think she would need help. There was something so unsettling about how much Brittany’s emotions affected her. She was usually unflappable.

They didn’t venture far and returned with a substantial amount of leaves. They laid the leaves out on the ground of their enclosure and Santana made sure that most of the leaves were near the back of the enclosure. That was where she decided that Brittany was going to sleep.

Brittany took the subtle direction to go to the back of the enclosure. She move d into it and sat down. Then she laid down and found she was less uncomfortable than she thought she’d be. Santana sat down near the entrance and leaned back on the wall.

“Aren’t you going to lay down?” Brittany asked.

Santana shook her head, “Not yet. I just want to keep watch for a little while. You can go ahead and go to sleep.”

Brittany would ask Santana if she was sure, but she figured that Santana had been so sure about everything else that it would be useless to ask her now. She laid down and closed her eyes. She was having problems relaxing until she felt the gentle touch of fingers on her back.

Santana must have seen her struggling to go to sleep. It was so odd that fingers that would easily take life from even the fiercest warriors were so soft when they ran up and down her back. Santana’s touches were gentle and smooth. It easily lulled Brittany into a deep, relaxed sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Santana woke up, startled. She grabbed around her for something to defend herself with. However, she found one of her arms was unmovable. She immediately looked to her arm and found it pinned under Brittany. After a few deep breaths to quell the panic, she found nothing was actually attacking them and that it had just been the sound of a bird picking at the left over rabbit.

Santana looked down at the position she was in. It seemed that in the middle of the night, she and Brittany had moved closer together and her arms found their way around Brittany.

The princess was still sleeping soundly. Brittany’s face was completely at peace. It wasn’t something Santana expected. She expected some kind of fitful sleep from the royalty that was so far out of her comfort zone. Brittany’s hair fell away from her face and Santana was struck by how beautiful Brittany was. She was so innocent.

Santana squirmed away from Brittany without waking her and walked out of the enclave. She couldn’t lie close to Brittany, holding her any longer. It made Santana want to protect her more.

The plan was to get Brittany back to Rome and then head back to Athens on the first ship out. But something about Brittany made Santana want to be her personal body guard for life. She wanted to protect Brittany’s innocence and keep her safe from everyone that would ever want to hurt her.

Santana picked up the leftover rabbit and threw it away from their primitive camp. She saw the birds go after it. She squatted next to what was left over from the fire and tried to get it started again. When it was going, she grabbed the bow that she made the night before and went out in search of food.

Brittany slowly woke up. She felt the warm sun on her skin. The leaves she was laying on weren’t much guard against the ground, but she slept well. She was awake, but she didn’t move much. She liked to enjoy the morning. Even though she was probably being hunted by a bunch of men who wanted to hold her for ransom, she felt safe. She knew she could enjoy this morning.

She heard Santana moving around outside of the enclosure, and when she slowly opened her eyes she saw her protector sitting next to the fire, cooking some kind of meat. It was substantially more meat than there was the night before and Brittany was thankful. She was famished.

After stretching in the sun and taking her time getting up, Brittany made her way out of the enclosure to Santana.

Santana looked up at her with a smile, “Hungry?”

“Starved,” Brittany sat down next to her.

Santana picked up some meat that was already cooked, resting on a large leaf next to her, and handed it over to Brittany. Brittany gasped when it was in front of her. She ignored the meat and took Santana’s hand, “What happened?”

Santana’s eyes flickered to the wound on the forearm that was still bleeding. She set the meat down next to Brittany and pulled her arm back, “I killed a boar this morning. It didn’t go down easy. No big deal.”

Brittany ignored Santana’s brush off and grabbed her arm again. She examined the deep laceration on Santana’s forearm. Her eyebrows furrowed and her mouth scrunched to one side. She looked around and saw a piece of curved bark that Santana had put water in. Brittany picked it up and poured some water on the wound. Then she ripped off some more of the bottom of the tunic and wrapped it around Santana’s forearm.

Santana watched carefully, but didn’t protest. She wasn’t used to having someone take care of her wounds and it baffled her. Her body was covered in scars that healed on their own without the help of anyone, but herself. Now Brittany was wrapping her forearm in ripped cloth. Santana wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it. Maybe it was the princess’s concern for herself. Santana convinced herself that Brittany’s concern was more likely concern for herself. If her champion was compromised then there was no one to protect her anymore.

When Brittany gently released Santana’s arm so that she could control it again, Santana looked at the tight wrap on her arm. Then she noticed Brittany straightening out what was left of her dress. “If you keep ripping cloth off of your tunic like that you’ll start looking like a Spartan.”

Brittany grinned and looked up at Santana, “I’m starting to believe that that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”

Santana found herself smiling back. She looked away when Brittany’s gaze got too endearing. Santana found something to do to distract herself. She took the meat that was cooking off of the fire and put it on a leaf. She didn’t look at Brittany when she asked slowly, “How’s your wrist?”

Brittany didn’t even think of her injury until Santana brought it up. She untied the cuff that Santana put on her wrist. It was a little sore when she moved it around, but it didn’t hurt anymore. She looked over at Santana. “It’s fine.” She reached over and picked up Santana’s arm, laying it across her lap. She put the cuff over the material that she put on Santana’s forearm.

“What are you doing?” Santana asked, but didn’t make a move to stop Brittany.

Brittany tied off the cuff and looked innocently up at her, “I didn’t want the bandage to come off.” She released Santana’s arm again and this time it stayed in its place.

Santana’s eyes held Brittany’s because she couldn’t stop looking at her. She was so entranced in what she had decided was actual, genuine caring her for wellbeing. It was not something that she was used to. It was something she was afraid of more than anything.

Suddenly, Santana stood up. She was abrupt, yet swift. “I’m – uh – going to get more water.” She picked up the empty piece of bark. “Eat up so that we can leave when I get back. We have a long way to go.”

Brittany just watched Santana fade out into the forest. She knew that there was something going on that she didn’t understand, but she knew Santana was feeling it too. She just wondered what was making the warrior retreat so quickly.

When Santana returned, Brittany took a long drink from the bark and then helped Santana put out the fire. Brittany carefully packed some of the leftover meat in a leaf and then in some more cloth that she tore from her sweeping tunic. Santana just shook her head with a smile when Brittany asked if she was ready to walk through Sparta yet. Brittany laughed and twirled in her just below the knee length tunic.

Brittany fashioned a small sling as they walked that she carried the food and extra string it. She slung it over her shoulder and silently followed Santana down the banks of the river that Santana assured them would lead back to Rome.

“Why don’t we just build a boat and float back?” Brittany finally asked a few hours into the trek. She was getting tired and hot. She wanted to stop, but Santana hadn’t even started to break a sweat so she was feeling inadequate.

Santana glanced behind her at the princess. She noted that Brittany was looking a little fatigued so she looked up ahead for a place to stop for a while. She found a nice gently slope on the bank a few hundred meters ahead so she kept walking while she spoke. “It would take me about a day to build a raft with the proper tools. Since I don’t have any of those tools it could take almost four days. It would take less time to just walk.” Santana shrugged, “Plus we’d be more exposed out on the raft.”

Brittany nodded, accepting the rational explanation. She was thankful when Santana suggested a break and immediately went to the river for a drink. After a few gulps, she splashed her face. She was resisting the urge to jump into the water completely.

Santana took one drink and watched Brittany. She was worried about the princess. They hadn’t been moving for very long before they needed to stop. It was going to be a long road back to Rome if they kept up this pace.

While Brittany drank, Santana climbed up on a rock and examined her arrows, making sure that they would stand up to at least some kind of combat. When she was satisfied, she put them back in the sling that she made out of a few vines and found Brittany looking at her.

Brittany sighed softly, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Santana asked.

“We haven’t been moving that long,” the princess shook her head as she lowered it. “I’m not used to this.”

“It’s not your fault,” Santana hopped off of the rock. “You’re right though. You aren’t used to this. I was trained for this.” Santana moved to the river and knelt down in front of it, “I’m sure you know a lot more about many more things than I do.” Santana used her hand to bring some water to her mouth and silently drank.

“It’s hard to imagine that out here,” Brittany did feel a little better after hearing Santana’s kind words. She still felt that the words were only kind and not at all true.

Santana used to water to rinse her face and then took another drink. She stood and looked ahead down the bank of the river, “Maybe you should tell me a story. One that you’ve read. It’ll make the time pass faster.”

“I’m sure you have more interesting stories than I do. From your battles,” Brittany offered.

Santana smiled and stood, “Perhaps, but they’re not stories that should be told in the company of a lady.”

Brittany chuckled and pushed her hair away from her face, “I don’t see any ladies around here.”

Santana laughed with Brittany. She wouldn’t say it, but she was thoroughly enjoying her time with Brittany. Even though she was alone in the forest with an inexperienced royal who was possibly being hunted, she was relaxed.

As they walked, Brittany did what Santana asked of her and started telling a story that she had read during her studies. Santana actually became interested in the foreign warrior woman who married into royalty and became a general. She led massive armies into battle and conquered great lands. She became the greatest general of the empire. It was even rumored that she was shot in the leg with an arrow, but broke it in half and finished the battle with the metal tip in her leg. She only rode on the backs of black horses and carried a thin, curved sword that moved like the wind.

“That was always my favorite story,” Brittany confessed as she followed Santana through some thick forest a few feet from the edge of the water.

Santana liked it as well, but didn’t say anything. She just asked Brittany why it was her favorite.

Brittany thought it over, “I guess because I grew up in a palace where all the guards were men and all the generals were men. Both of my parents control the army together, but my father always gives the official orders even if it was my mother’s idea. I like that the warrior in the story has control of her whole life. Her husband is her lieutenant. They loved each other and they worked together.”

“Sounds nice,” Santana added, lifting up a branch for Brittany to step under.

Brittany moved past Santana and Santana followed after her. Brittany kept the lead, knowing that they were just going to travel along the river so she wouldn’t get them lost. Brittany agreed, “It does.”

“Is that how you’re going to rule?” Santana asked, curiously. “With complete control?”

“Oh no,” Brittany shook her head, watching the path in front of them, “I’m not smart enough to govern by myself. I’ll have advisors and ask for the peoples’ opinions.”

“It’s smarter to know that you need help than to ignore that you need help,” Santana answered, “Perhaps you’re smarter than us all.”

Brittany looked over her shoulder at Santana and smiled, “Perhaps.”

Santana couldn’t help, but smile back. Brittany’s blue eyes sparkled in the water coming off of the river. Santana realized that Brittany’s innocence didn’t come from naivety. It came from knowing her place in the world and hoping that she could make it a better place. Maybe it wasn’t really innocence. Maybe it was just goodness all along. Santana didn’t see much of it as a professional warrior and sometimes it was hard for her to identify.

Brittany slowed down again and Santana suggested that they stop. Brittany didn’t want to, but Santana insisted. Santana knew that Brittany was getting tired and she didn’t want to strain her too much. If she got injured, they probably wouldn’t be able to move at all.

Brittany sat on the bank of the river and let her legs become engulfed in the cool water. Santana knew she should warn her again it, but Brittany flopped down on the grass behind her and Santana couldn’t bring herself to rouse her.

“Do you want me to go hunt for something to eat or should I just find some berries or something?” Santana asked, sitting down in the grass next to Brittany.

Brittany lulled her head so that she was looking at Santana, “I want you to teach me how to hunt.”

“What?” Santana asked with a smile.

Brittany frowned, “Why are you smiling? I’m serious.”

Santana bowed her head and hoped that she was effectively hiding her smile, “Okay, I’ll teach you.”

Brittany was trying to maintain her frown. Santana’s smile was infectious though. Brittany finally gave in a smiled as well. She playfully pushed Santana who barely waivered. She looked up at Brittany with a challenging quirk of an eyebrow. Brittany just rolled her eyes and picked up the bow that was lying next to Santana.

They walked a little deeper into the forest and crouched down next to the base of a large tree. Santana handed Brittany one of her arrows. She leaned close and whispered to Brittany, “Most of hunting is about waiting.”

Brittany nodded. She knew that much from her studies. She had read about great hunters and heard stories. She knew the fundamentals, but never got to put anything into practice. She looked down at the bow and put the slit in the back of the arrow on the string. That was easy.

Santana watched as Brittany scanned the area around her. Santana smiled softly watching Brittany look around for something to shoot. Santana kept a trained eye out as well, making sure that the first animal they came across wasn’t a boar. As far as animals went, boars were aggressive and the most likely to attack them upon sight.

Unfortunately nothing seemed to cross their path. Brittany was getting bored and Santana could tell so Santana sat down completely and added in a casual voice, “Shoot some of those blood oranges over there.”

“Are they going to run away?” Brittany quirked an eyebrow.

Santana laughed, “You shoot three of those and I’ll find you something live to shoot.”

Brittany was determined to prove to Santana that she could do it so she stood and took aim. She pulled the arrow back and let it fly.

Santana watched the arrow sail through the air and bury itself into the trunk of the orange tree. She looked over at Brittany who didn’t look over at Santana. She just took another arrow out of Santana’s hand, “Don’t say anything.”

Santana tried to cover her mouth to hide her smile. She didn’t say anything. She just watched Brittany completely miss again.

Brittany took a deep breath and shook her head. Then she looked over at Santana, “Any tips?”

Santana wanted to be sarcastic. She wanted to tell Brittany that she should probably hit the target. Santana hopped to her feet. Santana put the arrows in her hand down next to her feet and stood behind Brittany. “Alright, pretend like you’re about to shoot.”

Brittany pulled the arrow back and held still. Santana walked around her, careful not to get in the way of the ready to fire arrow. “Your aim is off. You’re not…” Santana trailed off trying to think of a way to put it. She decided that she didn’t know the words so she wrapped her fingers around Brittany’s hand that cradled the back of the bow and moved it higher up Brittany’s cheek. Then she tucked some of Brittany’s hair behind her ear so that she could see better. The touch was all too intimate for Santana’s liking, but she only realized this after she pulled away.

Brittany kept a steady poker face though. Her eyes may have closed for a moment when Santana’s fingers brushed her cheek, but she didn’t move any other muscle.

Santana knew that she needed to add something. She cleared her throat, “You just need to take a deep breath before you shoot and then hold it until you let go.”

Brittany did as Santana told her. She inhaled a few times and then drew in one deep breath. She released the arrow and it sailed straight forward, barely missing one of the oranges. Brittany immediately turned to Santana for approval. Santana smiled at her, “Great shot.”

Brittany felt exceptionally proud of herself because Santana seemed proud of her. Her next few shots were more on target and when she finally speared an orange, she laughed. Shooting arrows was fun. She hugged Santana who was definitely not expecting it. Santana placed her hands on Brittany’s back anyway. She had held Brittany in the night, but it was different. She was being embraced by Brittany and it felt incredible.

“Okay,” Brittany pulled away swiftly and looked at the bow in her hands, “Can I have one of these? Can we make another one?”

Santana smiled fondly at Brittany. Brittany was so excited and proud of herself. Santana couldn’t help but be extremely proud of her too. Santana nodded, “We’ll have to look for a decent branch to make the bow, but you still have the string. We’ll keep an eye out today while we keep moving up the river and when we stop for the night I’ll put it together for you.”

“Can I?” Brittany asked. She was eager to learn. The past twenty-four hours had shown her how underprepared that she was to live outside of the palace. She wanted to take care of herself and more importantly, she wanted to be less of a burden on Santana.

Santana nodded, “Of course.” For her part, Santana was surprised by Brittany. The princess wasn’t whining. She wasn’t terrified or angry. Brittany wasn’t demanding. She seemed to be eager to take in everything around her. She was learning and absorbing.

Santana helped Brittany gather the arrows. Some of them were ruined beyond repair so the left them where they were, but they made it away with a few arrows. Santana moved to a rock a few meters away while Brittany stayed at the tree to pick some oranges.

Brittany was reaching for an orange from a higher branch when Santana looked up at her. As soon as her gaze touched Brittany, her eyes were locked. The way that the light hit her hair was nothing short of magical, like the gods themselves had placed the sun in the exact place to make Brittany seem more ethereal. The shoulders were exposed, her lithe arms gracefully weaving between branches. With her shortened tunic, Santana could see Brittany’s lean muscular legs, strain to elevate her more.

Just as Santana was about to look away, she saw something moving at Brittany’s feet. There was something dark scurrying around at Brittany’s feet. When she saw the stinger poised to strike, it only took Santana half a second to aim an arrow and let it go.

The loud noise next to her feet made Brittany jump, but she didn’t drop any oranges. She looked down and saw a large scorpion with an arrow through it, pinned to the base of the tree. It was only a few centimeters from her ankle. Brittany looked up at Santana. “Did you just…”

Santana nodded, “It was about to sting you.”

“We don’t have ones that big in the palace,” Brittany knelt down to look at it.

Santana walked over to Brittany and pulled the arrow out of the tree. She looked the scorpion over. “There usually aren’t ones this big in the cities.” Santana tossed the arrow away because there was no use in keeping it. It was bent and there was a scorpion on it.

Brittany kissed Santana’s cheek and thanked her for saving her from a sting. Then she resumed picking oranges, “Maybe someday I’ll be able to shoot that well.”

Santana was stunned by the kiss to her cheek. It’s not like both women and men hadn’t done that to her. She had been thanked for saving peoples’ lives and various other things, and in far more intimate ways. There was no reason for a kiss from a princess should make her lose her ability to speak or her cheeks to flush.

Santana’s thumb picked at the cloth wrapped around the bow. She swallowed and looked down at her ground. “I’m uh…” Santana cleared her throat, “Someday you will be able to.” Then she mumbled something about going to get some water.

When Brittany was sure that Santana was really walking away, she looked over her shoulder at the retreating warrior. She smiled to herself and looked back up at the oranges. Being stranded in the middle of nowhere was a lot more interesting than she ever thought it could be.


	5. Chapter 5

When they came upon a small village, Brittany was elated. She loved spending time in the woods with Santana, but she still had delicate sensibilities that required well prepared food and baths.

She started to walk straight out of the tree line when Santana caught her arm. “You can’t just walk out there.”

“Why not?” Brittany asked, blue eyes wide and confused. However, she trusted Santana and stepped back into the safety of the forest.

Santana looked toward the nearest farm and gestured to it with her head, “Does that carriage look familiar?”

It took a moment, but Brittany saw what she was looking at. “That’s the one that we were in after they took us.”

The warrior slowly nodded, her eyes scanning for the men who had captured them. She licked her lips and searched for the men. She didn’t see any of them. The carriage seemed to just be parked in front of the far, horses still attached and restless. “We didn’t leave many of them alive. There’s can’t be more than two or three.” She inhaled, “I have an idea.”

She took the bow off of her shoulder and handed it to Brittany, who looked at it questioningly, “What is your plan?”

“I’m going to go steal a horse, but I need you to cover me,” Santana looked down at her sandaled feet, hoping that she was fast enough not to get caught. The horses were quite far across a small field of grapes and over two fences.

“Cover you,” Brittany grabbed Santana’s arm, “What do you mean cover you?” She held out the bow, “With this?”

Santana nodded. She placed the arrows down on the ground at Brittany’s feet, “Shoot anyone that attacks me.” She added under her breath, “Hopefully they won’t.”

“I can’t shoot that far,” Britany shook her head.

“Yeah you can,” Santana assured her, “You’ve done it before.”

“People are not oranges,” Brittany spat back, more terrified than angry.

Santana tore her gaze away from the farm and placed her hands on Brittany’s that were holding the bow, “I will be fine. You’ve seen me fight. You are just here for backup.” She offered Brittany a smile. She took her knife out of the sheath she had made from the leather wrist cuff she had been dressed in back in Brittany’s city. “We’ll get you home, your majesty. I promise.”

Santana started to walked away, but Brittany stopped her again. She wasn’t sure why she had stopped Santana. She _had_ seen Santana fight and she was pretty sure there was no one that she couldn’t beat, but she was still afraid. They didn’t know who was in the house watching the cart or even who was inside of it. She looked over Santana’s face, dark eyes and dirty streaked face. She didn’t want Santana to be put in danger because of her. She had grown irrationally and stupidly fond of her. The kind of fond that her mother had always taught her wasn’t supposed to be directed at anyone who wasn’t royal.

“I will be right back for you,” Santana placed her hand on Brittany’s face. Her smiled was hopeful because she wanted Brittany to smile as well. She wanted Brittany to have faith.

“Mother was wrong,” Brittany whispered.

Before Santana could ask her what she was talking about, Brittany dipped her head down and kissed Santana, desperate and intense. Brittany let it all go. All of the strange feelings she had felt for that Spartan warrior were unleashed into a short kiss that was nothing more than lips sliding together and shared breaths. She could feel Santana kiss her bad, gently and timidly. It wasn’t something she expected from such a fierce warrior. She expected to be pushed against the nearest tree and taken the way she had been told the way Spartans took women.

Santana was the first one to pull away and gently caressed Brittany’s face. “You shouldn’t give kisses that you’ll have to take back.”

“What do you mean?” Brittany could barely register what was being said to her. In all honesty, she was disappointed that the story about Spartans was false. She could feel a burning in her body to pull Santana closer and make her show her things that she’d never felt before.

“When you return home,” Santana’s eyes were sad, but the smile on her face was an effort to soften the blow, “When you return home, your parents will not be happy that I’m a companion you’ve chosen.”

Brittany fumbled around with the information, “I don’t care.”

“You will,” Santana dropped one last kiss on Brittany’s lips before withdrawing completely. She turned around and ran toward the rows of grape vines, hurdling over the first fence that protected them and then ducking out of sight.

There was a moment of completely motionlessness both physically and mentally for Brittany. A frown took place on her face, “How dare she tell me how I feel,” she grumbled to herself and picked up an arrow. She threaded the arrow and swore to herself that she would show Santana who was allowed to feel what.

She kept her eyes on the grapevine growing up stick grids, making rows of fences that hid Santana from view. She couldn’t see the Spartan for a few minute and Brittany’s stomach tied up in knots. She couldn’t help, if she couldn’t see.

But suddenly, Santana deftly hopped over the far away fence and ran for the cart that had carried them so far away from home. She watched Santana kicked up dirt on the road as she slid to a stop next to one of the horses. She saw Santana’s hand on the horse’s head, calming it as she started cutting the horse’s bindings with one hand.

Brittany pulled the arrow back when shouting erupted from the house that cart was parked in front of. Two men ran out with swords in their hands. A third stumbled out with a spear. Santana abandoned trying to free the horse and pointed her knife at them, slowly backing away to get a clear space to fight in.

Brittany wasn’t going to let that happen. She let the first arrow fly, hoping to take out the assailant closest to Santana. Instead the arrow hit the rocky ground and hit the side of one of the attacker’s ankles. He looked up toward the forest where the arrow had come from and pointed. He shouted, “There she is!”

Santana used the momentary distraction to attack. He stabbed the first man in the throat with her knife, leaving him choking and sputtering on the ground as the second man jumped over him to attack.

The third started moving toward the forest. He was large and angry, marching ever closer to Brittany. She couldn’t seem to move. He locked eyes with her, somehow holding her in place.

“Shoot him!” Santana yelled, using the first man’s sword to battle the second.

The words rang in the air like an alarm and Brittany picked up another arrow. She fumbled with threading it, but she pulled it back, almost not even looking at her target, just sensing he was getting dangerously close. She let it fly and the arrow buried itself in the man’s abdomen.

For a moment, she was safe. For a moment, there was relief. But the man pulled the arrow out of his stomach and continued to march toward her, bleeding profusely and seething with rage.

Again Brittany fumbled with the arrows, but this time, the man had reached her before she could fire. He grabbed her roughly by the arm and yanked the bow out of her hands, “You’ll pay for that.”

He threw her toward the vineyard and she fell to the ground, without weapons or anything to defend herself with. He raised his sword high in the air, ready to drop a powerful blow, killing the only daughter of the royal family.

Brittany closed her eyes, knowing that she couldn’t stop it. She couldn’t stop the sword that was about to end her life. Her only hope was that Santana made it out okay.

Instead of a death blow, Brittany heard the galloping of horse hooves and a man’s guttural scream, echoing through the village. When she opened her eyes, the man who had tried to kill her was laying on the ground at her feet, nearly headless, but completely dead.

Santana was sitting on the bare back of a horse with only makeshift reins in her hand. In her other hand, a bloodied sword dripped onto the grass.

“Your majesty,” Santana put her new sword in the same hand with the reins and offered it to Brittany.

Brittany stood up and took Santana’s hand, not having to do hardly anything to mount the horse before the Spartan who had barely broken a sweat.

Santana didn’t want to spend very long in the village that they had just ambushed so she urged the horse quickly down the dirty road out of town.

“I told you that we would be okay,” Santana finally spoke out as she stopped the horse for a rest. It had been a long while since they left the village and they had ridden in silence, both desperate to escape and lost in their own thoughts.

She slid off of the horse to lead it to the edge of the river with Brittany still on its back.

“You also told me that I could shoot a bow,” Brittany dryly answered.

“You shot him didn’t you,” the Spartan stopped next to the river and didn’t look at Brittany when she answered. She knelt down next to the water to drink along with the horse. Then she rubbed the water on her face. She shook the water off and stood up straight, only to feel a body behind her.

When she turned around, Brittany caught her eyes, “I care for you.”

Santana opened her mouth to reply but found that nothing would come out.

“I don’t care what my parents think,” Brittany folded her hands in front of herself, “I have learned on this journey that sometimes they are wrong.” Her golden hair fell around her face, catching the mid-afternoon sunlight.

Santana’s eyes shifted from Brittany’s face to the ground. She swallowed and looked away, frightened for the first time in her life because there was something new blossoming inside of her. She had spent her life training for battle and war, but never for the vulnerability of affection. All at once, she started to move, shoving the horse reins into Brittany’s hands and walking away toward a field, “I’m going to go catch some food.” Her sword waved at her side, occasionally hacking at tall grass that she walked by.

It didn’t hurt Brittany that Santana had walked away like that. In fact it was contrary to that. She grinned happily, watching the fearsome warrior have no idea how to handle her advances. She watched Santana mutter to herself and slam the sharp sword into trees when she thought she was out of sight.

“She’s not as tough as she thinks she is, is she?” Brittany looked up at the horse next to her.

The horse shook its head trying to get rid of a bothersome fly, but it seemed like he was agreeing with her.

Brittany patted the patch of white on its nose and then gently scratched, “She’ll come around. I know it.”

 


End file.
